Overlord (Light Novel)

The cut closed—you couldn’t say that it was instantaneous—at a visible speed.

“That’s fast…I couldn’t even calculate the time it took…? The medicinal herbs and magical reagents used to make it…are in this deposit?

He sure talks to himself a lot, huh…Or rather, that knife, wasn’t it the one he was using to chop something up until just a moment ago? And on top of that, he was able to use it in that way…Wasn’t the effect not supposed to activate if you didn’t use the whole thing, regardless of the wound? No, that was probably because in an extreme situation, like in the middle of combat, you wouldn’t be able to consider things like wound depth to calculate the amount to use, would you?

The Chief Pharmacist licked off all the potion that covered his hand and then smelled it.

“I smell Azen…?” He seemed to notice that it was something else faster than Ainz could slip in a retort. “Is that not it…? Is it the smell of my own hand?...odorless and tasteless…for concealing?”

…Concealing what?

“No—” the Chief Pharmacist spun his head around and fixed his gaze on Ainz. “Are all the healing medicines of the city this color?”

“That is incorrect. I hear it was spread there via the undead king who rules over E-Rantel. I do not know all of the details of how it came to be but, well, it is valuable. In fact, the color of the common healing potion in circulation is blue.”

The Chief Pharmacist heaved a heavy sigh.

“An undead king?…No, that’s not the problem, I guess…though I also have a feeling that it is a problem, well, it’s…fine? Mm. So, you wouldn’t mind if I kept this?”

The Chief Pharmacist pointed at the bottle with about half of its contents left.

“Depending on the conditions.” Upon confirming that the Chief Pharmacist was waiting for what came next, Ainz continued, “the price is information. If it’s you, who has served the role of a pharmacist in this Sea of Trees, I believe you hold knowledge that can only be found here. I believe things would be balanced if it were to be in exchange for that information but…what say you?”

After silence had reigned over them for a little while, the Chief Pharmacist opened his mouth.

“…For what sort of purpose do you want to use that knowledge?”

If Ainz recalled the attitude of the Chief Pharmacist from just a little while ago, he would have a rough idea about the answer he would be pleased with. Those were probably the words, “to aim for the top as a pharmacist,” “I want to be an even greater pharmacist than I am now,” et cetera. However, Ainz could not say that.

“It is not that I have any particular purpose in mind. So long as I can get a hold of that information, I might be able to use it in some business in the future, and my thirst for knowledge will be satisfied.”

Just as Ainz had predicted, the Chief Pharmacist looked a little angry.

“…That’s what you want it for?”

“As I said just a moment ago, I am an Arcane-type magic caster. I pride myself on those abilities being extremely high, but my skills as an alchemist are non-existent, and my master told me that I had no talent in that field. Therefore, I do not have the least bit of intention to live as a pharmacist. However, information is another matter. Information is power, and a weapon. Those who have it and those who do not are completely different. Lastly, the debt of gratitude I would owe would be larger.”

“—debt of gratitude?”

“Yes. Since I have no intention to become a pharmacist, you should be reluctant to teach me your secrets—am I right?” Without waiting for the Chief Pharmacist’s reply, Ainz continued. “If that is the case, then the only question that remains is: can you offer me information that is equal in value to the unknown healing potion, an extremely rare thing, in exchange? Thus, the difference in this trade would become a debt of gratitude.”

“You might end up accepting information about trivial mixes or plants, you know? And then I might declare that I haven’t taken on any debt. Or, can I assert that the price I paid was higher and that you are the one who will be in debt to me?”

“Even so I don’t mind, you know?”

The Chief Pharmacist made a face that said, “what?”

“There are two demerits you receive by doing that. One is that you cannot lie to yourself. The feeling of guilt you’d get from exchanging some useless information for something really valuable would stay with you, would it not?”

“Hoo.”

“And one more. You would be appraised as a brazen and unscrupulous person. Should there be a next time, our past association would be taken into account. And, if I were to talk about this in the city, how would the others—the pharmacists whose knowledge is greater than my own—feel about it, how would they think of you?”

“—I see. The knowledge of the savages of the frontier would be evaluated as only of that level, and the Dark Elves who live in this forest, and their pharmacists too, will be the targets of derision, huh. Would I be evaluated as a pharmacist who can’t even discern the value of the medicine that was handed to them? Would I be considered a pharmacist who doesn’t have knowledge that could balance out the trade? Or, would I be judged to be a greedy pharmacist who can’t conduct business fairly?”

“Though you might also be praised for buying an expensive item for a lower price.”

“…Is that how pharmacists in the city think? They try not to pay the proper price for the things they are offered?”

“Many kinds of people live in the city after all. I cannot say for certain that there are no people who are obsessed with the short-term benefits and do not have foresight. Well, those sorts of people will soon disappear thereafter because a second chance will not come their way ever again. On the contrary, it is those merchants who look after first-time customers who will be given a chance of success. As the saying goes, you must lose the fly to catch the trout.”

“Heh-heh-heh,” the Chief Pharmacist laughed in amusement. It was the first time he had smiled since Ainz got there. “You really are a smooth-talker, aren’t you? You sure run your mouth a lot.”

Ainz breathed a small sigh of relief. He had thought the Chief Pharmacist would be a much more emotional Dark Elf.

To put it bluntly, for a very average salesman, customers who put their emotions out in the open presented many, many problems. Personality-wise, the kind of people who prioritized their own feelings over the merits and demerits of an action, even after they were explained to them, were quite troublesome. Ainz remembered hearing that in most cases, those were the sort of people who would decide on the specifications one day and come back to say to change them the next day.

It seems that there was an opinion that if one were to be a first-rate salesman, that kind of customer would be a piece of cake to handle once they got their foot in the door, but for Ainz—from the perspective of an average salesman like Suzuki Satoru—they weren’t someone he would want to do business with.

“That is the first time I have been told that.”

He really had never been told that.

“Isn’t it just that everybody thought of you that way and just didn’t say it out loud?”

Unlike a moment ago, the Chief Pharmacist seemed to be in a good mood.

“Is that right? Though I myself do not believe so.”

“Heh-heh-heh—Now then, when it comes to the knowledge that will balance out the value of this potion, there’s nothing I can offer except the secret medicines I know. How long are you planning on staying in this village?”

“It is not as if I have definitely decided, but I intend to leave this village in a few days. Perhaps around seven days at the longest.”

The Chief Pharmacist’s mouth twisted into a grin.

“I see…In that case…”

A few moments passed as he remained silent just as he was. Ainz didn’t say anything.

“For the time being, if we only have that short a time, then it would be impossible to drill my secret medicines into you. For medicines that are considered secret, you must grasp the minute changes—the changes in the necessary ingredients in each season—recognize them by scent and touch, and finally, you have to carefully alter the amounts you use. Putting it bluntly, I want you to stay here for half a year so I can beat those changes into all five of your senses.”

Ainz wanted to say, “you just have to write them out on a sheet of paper,” but if he did, the Chief Pharmacist might be displeased, so he didn’t say anything.

“Therefore, you don’t mind if it’s not the secret medicines—though I don’t know if they’ll balance the scales out from the perspective of value—but instead, medicines that are thought of as rare. You don’t mind if I taught you the processes to mix them, their prescription, and other knowledge about them?”

“No, that will not be a problem. I shall leave it up to you.”

“All right then—starting today, let’s have you stay here and I’ll teach you. Since we don’t really have much time. I’m gonna beat it firmly into that body of yours.”

“—What?”

That’s a problem. That is absolutely a problem.

He wanted to decrease the danger of his illusion being found out by even a little bit. On top of that, his body didn’t need to eat, sleep, or even use the toilet. No matter how well he acted, it was certain he would be thought of as abnormal and he would be found out.

“My apologies, but my niece and nephew are here with me, so I must decline that request. I do not mind if you reduce the number of medicines you teach me, so would you be willing to compromise? Because I am going to record it properly.”

“…Oral transmission only. I won’t allow a single record of them.”

“That is a…”

Ainz hemmed and hawed.

He didn’t have the confidence that he could memorize everything, even with instruction.

Certainly, for YGGDRASIL, the game he poured everything he had into, remembering the vast amount of information that was in it wasn’t the least bit difficult. However, if you asked him if he could remember information that he had no interest in like in this situation, he would have to shake his head in the negative.

In general, if one were to look at it from a boss’s perspective, would you not worry if you had subordinates who only listened to what you said and didn’t take any notes?

The Chief Pharmacist probably took a different meaning from Suzuki Satoru’s—a working adult who considered such things—silence. He opened his mouth.

“It seems like you’re dissatisfied. But, you know? I won’t even say that I want to know the production process of your potion. I’ll spare you that much.”

“Being told not to take even a single record is a little troubling…I do not have confidence in my own ability to remember things. Therefore, would you allow me to take just a few notes so I can remember.?”

“What the hell are you saying!” the Chief Pharmacist said, spit flying out of his mouth. “I’m gonna make your body remember! As a pharmacist’s apprentice, you’re receiving instruction so that you can immediately tell how much the amount of what you’re holding right now weighs!”

It felt difficult to answer with, “No, I can’t do something like that.’ If that were the case, maybe he should lie?”

He held no intention of paying lip service to the idea that “you mustn’t tell lies.” There were even times for white lies. Maybe he should say that in this case, he shouldn’t tell a lie with ill intent.

—This is so troublesome.

From the flow of the conversation, it appeared that he would become an apprentice and receive special instruction here, but the reason he had come to see a pharmacist was only on a small hunch that he could obtain information if there were any available. He had considered—if he was able to obtain even a fragment of the Dark Elves’ herbal medicine and find out if it was more advanced than the Sorcerer Kingdom’s—potentially importing it in some way like sending out technical intern trainees.

As a part of that plan, they would bring back the technology they learned and research it in pursuit of pharmaceuticals. It wasn’t as if Ainz himself wanted to beg to be instructed on the subject.

Frankly speaking, he had said the price was information, but even if it were to be in the form of taking back a single bottle of a potion made here that had value, and then handing that over to Nfirea, there wouldn’t have been a problem—well, maybe only a little one. There was no doubt that if it were him, he could analyze it and tell what kind of medicinal herbs it was made from and more.

Hmmm. Maybe the way I went about our first contact was a little mistaken? However…that was the only way to draw out his interest…You could even say that things proceeded this well because I had that. It’s also not as if, when I think about the possibility that even the medicine we receive couldn’t be analyzed, it would all be a total wash but…Now then, what do I do?

“What’s the problem!”

It didn’t look like Ainz would be given very much time to think. In that case then, just like always, he wouldn’t leave things to chance.

“…Certainly, my master also said ‘so your body remembers it.’”

The Chief Pharmacist nodded his head countless times while faintly muttering exactly, obviously, the city pharmacists get it too.

“However, in the same spirit, they also said this: ‘take proper notes because you’re stupid. So you don’t make me say the same things over again and over again.’

“…Wha?” The Chief Pharmacist’s eyes went wide open, and his eyebrows then raised in concern, and asked, “…stu…pid you say?”

“Yes, that is what I was told by my master.”

“I-I see…No, no, masters are strict with their disciples. I don’t think they were saying that seriously, you know? Look, what you were talking about just a little while ago was well reasoned, and was formed to seal off my escape routes. That definitely wasn’t something someone stupid could do.”

I’m being consoled…

It seemed that it was also the same for the Dark Elves, that they didn’t know what to say when the other party themselves declared, “I’m stupid.” Because the world they lived in wasn’t a kind one, Ainz had thought that he would be cast away, but that didn’t appear to be the case.

He had complicated feelings about it, but all he could do was capitalize on this. Ainz responded.

“No, I’m sure there’s something wrong with me. My ability to remember things is weak.”

“I-I see…”

Ainz asserted it with confidence, and on top of that, the Chief Pharmacist had averted his gaze as if his head had been pushed to the side.

They both fell silent.

There was a fairly good chance that the Chief Pharmacist would say that there’s no way he could teach things that could turn into poison if the amounts were mistaken to someone like him.

However— “I get it,” a voice that sounded like it had accepted something suddenly leaked out of the Chief Pharmacist.

When Ainz was wondering what it was that he “got,” the Chief Pharmacist showed an expression that was akin to admiration but only for an instant. Since it immediately returned to the expression that wouldn’t change from a little while ago, it was a momentary change that could make you think that it was a trick of the eye. It definitely wasn’t Ainz’s imagination.

In his head, Ainz slightly braced himself. He didn’t know what it was, but it appeared that something inside the Chief Pharmacist had resonated with what he had said.

Ainz felt like he could see a demon he knew very well smiling behind the Chief Pharmacist.

…What the hell did I just imagine? That would be really weird, wouldn’t it?

“…If that’s how it is, then it can’t be helped. Seven days at the longest, meaning there’s even a possibility that you’ll leave this village even earlier, right? Repeating the same explanations over again means squandering even more of our time. Make sure to burn those records when you’ve remembered them properly, okay?”

He didn’t know what had caused the change in the Chief Pharmacist’s attitude. While keeping his guard up, Ainz answered as he normally would.

“Yes, I promise.”

“You get it, then. In accordance with your request, I will teach a rather difficult mixture. My instruction will be strict, but you won’t cry about it, will you?”

Ainz didn’t remember anything about a request, but even leaving that aside for the moment, this was the only thing he should probably say right at the start.

“No, please teach me gently.”

The Chief Pharmacist’s mouth fell open with a pop, and then he made a face that looked like he had swallowed a bitter bug.

It wasn’t as if Ainz had negative opinions about strict instruction. However, between strict and gentle, he was the sort of person who would choose the latter.

“You got some nerve…”

“No, but I wouldn’t like it if you beat me with a heated pole or something?”

“Y-your master does things like that?”

“No, they do not do things like that, but—”

“Even I wouldn’t do such a thing like that, alright!”

“I would be very happy if you did not.”

When Ainz shrugged his shoulders like he was joking, the Chief Pharmacist looked disgusted.

“Haa. I think I understand your personality a little bit. Though I also do feel a little sorry for your master. Come on, I’m gonna teach you straight away. From here I’m going to cite the names of several medicines and their effects. If they’re ones you know then it’ll be useless…no, they can’t be said to be useless? I guess it wouldn’t be so bad in the sense that you’ll learn about the difference in the ingredients used and more. Well, anyway, tell me which ones you want me to teach you.”

“Thank you very much. However, before that, one question…Are you alright with a verbal agreement?”

If he were to say, sign a contract or cast some spell, it might be better to just have him pretend that everything they had talked about until now didn’t happen.

“I don’t care. Trust is important, right? Who knows, maybe what you put in writing will get passed around and get carried all the way back to me? All that’ll happen then is I’ll scorn you. ‘So that’s the kinda people city pharmacists are,’ is what I’ll say.”

“I see, I understand. It’s also a big loss for me if the assessment of the city pharmacists was lowered. I absolutely promise not to put them in writing and let them be distributed.”

♦ ♦ ♦

Seeing off the back of the man until he was no longer in view, the Chief Pharmacist let out a soft laugh.

How long had it been since he had last seen anyone off? It might have been the first time since he gained the status of Chief Pharmacist in this village.

—He is a surprisingly shrewd man. Are there a lot of people like him in that city-place?

There couldn’t be. No, if that were the case, it would be a crazy story.

I’d heard that the number of inhabitants in the city was greater than all of the Dark Elves living in this forest. That man should be counted among the upper echelons of them. If a man who thought that much was common in the city, you would have to be wary of the details so as not to be fooled, wouldn’t you?

The man humbled himself as a failure and so on, but if that were true he wouldn’t run his mouth like that. It was true even more so if he considered the flow of the conversation and the information that had been given to him, he would never go on a fool’s errand.

If that were so, why had he been so hung up on writing down the Chief Pharmacist’s teachings on paper? Maybe he didn’t think the Chief Pharmacist, who had gotten angry with that, would reject teaching him?

However, the reason the Chief Pharmacist hit upon the idea that he had some kind of objective, was because he started saying things like his memory was bad, or calling himself stupid.

All the things he was taught, he could secretly write on paper later. In spite of that, it was necessary for him to declare he was going to take notes right in front of the Chief Pharmacist until it put him in a bad mood.

In other words—

—I didn’t get it right away, but what that man wanted to convey to me was probably two things. One was that he’s “not hiding anything.”

Of course, he couldn’t trust him just like that. It might be that even as the man showed him something true, he could be hiding something else behind that truth. Unfortunately, he couldn’t fully trust a man he had met for the first time today that much. And yet, for him to say “I will not cover anything up and thus lay my thoughts bare before you,” held major significance for potentially building a trusting relationship between them.

And finally, the other reason he could never say out loud was probably him asking to be taught an appropriately difficult level of mixture even given his lack of time. One at the level of definitely not being able to remember no matter how many times he saw it.

He, who wasn’t even a specialized pharmacist, trying to learn high difficulty level mixtures was outlandish. On top of that, pretty much all of the difficult mixtures utilized only precious medicinal herbs. Maybe it was for that reason he couldn’t make a direct request himself.

In other words, he was a man who knew shame.

However, the Chief Pharmacist didn’t think the second meaning was really a problem.

Originally, based on the conditions of the exchange of that unknown medicine—which he thought to be related to the one from legend—he had considered it to be okay to offer up his secret medicines.

The Dark Elves’ secret medicines were split into three major categories.

The first one was medicines that could be made through difficult mixing procedures.

The second was medicines made utilizing extremely rare medicinal herbs.

The third was dangerous drugs that had an excessively potent efficacy.

Those were the three.

He had stated the first one as the reason why he couldn’t pass on the secret medicines to him, but he considered teaching him the medicines that were in the second category.

It could be that medicinal herbs that are rare in this region might be abundant in the city or wherever, that was often the case with medicinal herbs. However, if he said that, it wouldn’t have gotten them anywhere. Or rather, since those under the first category were impossible to teach him and there was no way he was going to teach the dangerous drugs in the third category, his answer had already been decided.

And in this case, he had also thought there would be a benefit for himself too, he could offer up the ingredients that were rarely found here and were highly prized even in the city at an appropriate price simultaneously.

If he returned to the city, spread the medicines he had been entrusted with, and they became precious materials as a result, then people from the city might come here to the Dark Elf villages to do business to try and obtain them. When he saw the purple potion, he knew that the city’s medicinal use was at an appropriately high level. Having a chance to obtain that material and knowledge, even the Chief Pharmacist didn’t think it sounded so bad.

Just from that man’s arrival, he didn’t know whether or not it would give rise to interactions between the village and the city in the future. However, even if you were to tell him that he should accept the request based on that practical perspective, there would be no doubt that the Chief Pharmacist would have frankly disagreed with that sentiment instead. If he had had a personality that could be influenced by some rational conversation on the merits and demerits, the villagers probably wouldn’t mutter the word “obstinate” around him, and he probably wouldn’t be without a wife at his age. It wasn’t as if he didn’t worry about it so long as he was esteemed by his fellow pharmacist friends, but as of now, he had yet to give thought to trying and changing himself.

That man talked about gains and losses. If it had been way before, it would have been an argument that he couldn’t stomach. However, it was about his gains and losses as a pharmacist, interestingly enough. If in some far-off place his efforts as a pharmacist were mocked, he would have no way of knowing. He had no way of knowing, but if you were to ask him if he was okay with that, his answer would be “absolutely not.”

Because he had perceived value in what that man had offered up, he couldn’t relax if he didn’t return something of equal or greater value.

He felt that the man really was a smooth talker, because he had attacked from the two fronts of logos and pathos simultaneously.

Normally, the one who taught held superior standing while the one who was taught held an inferior standing.

However, it wasn’t like that this time.

Teaching was the price of that potion. What’s more, the man had taken the stance of leaving it up to him whether or not he would teach him. At this point, you could say their positions were equal.

And that man immediately went on to say that he was going to take notes to open up hostilities.

If the other party doesn’t hide anything—and acts in a way that can gain my trust, then I should also adopt an attitude so that man will trust me. However—

That was an extremely different problem.

As he was returning to the sitting table, the Chief Pharmacist scrunched up his face.

I don’t think I can do something like that.

The Chief Pharmacist himself knew he was bad at getting along with others.

Even looking back on the times he had passed on knowledge to the villagers, he could declare that he hadn’t been a good teacher.

Flicking a glance at the dried leaves, which were a type of narcotic, that were on the medicinal herb shelf, the Chief Pharmacist shook his head. That stuff was aimed at easing pain and could also be used to eliminate stress. However, it wasn’t very appropriate for an educator to use it.

“Nothing else I can do but try my best, huh.”

The Chief Pharmacist mumbled.

But, well, it seemed like acting wasn’t his strong suit. To go so far as to stare at me so hard he even forgot to blink…does it mean that he’s that interested in me? Hehehe…he looked younger than me based on his looks, but he certainly is young...I guess he did have a pretty cute side to him after all, huh?